Laurier researcher Jennifer Williams receives Banting Discovery Award to study women’s heart and brain health

June 23, 2025

Jennifer Williams, an assistant professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, has received a 2025 Ontario Brain Institute - Banting Discovery Award. She is one of 10 Canadian scientists to win the $30,000 prize. The Banting Discovery Foundation provides Canada’s most talented and innovative health and biomedical scientists with seed money in the first three years of their university appointments to help launch their independent research programs.

Williams is tackling a historically understudied topic: women’s heart and brain health. Older women are at an increased risk for certain cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, including heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, yet they have been largely underrepresented in research studies, ignoring sex-specific factors such as hormone changes due to contraceptive use and menopause.

“Recent research has uncovered biomarkers that can provide early insights into the development of these diseases,” says Williams. “Understanding how short-term stressors, including food, exercise and psychological stress, impact those biomarkers reveals the health impacts of daily activities. Creating new evidence specific to women’s cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems will find interventions to improve their health.”

Williams says the women in her life inspire her to be part of a “new wave” of research focused on women’s health. She is using her Banting Discovery Award funding to purchase a transcranial doppler ultrasound for her lab at Laurier, enabling her to study how hormones and cardiovascular stressors impact blood flow to the brain.

“My hope is that our discoveries lead to lifestyle interventions that are unique to women,” says Williams. “I am deeply grateful to the Banting Discovery Foundation and Ontario Brain Institute for this incredible award. I look forward to many motivating years of research to come and the impact it will have on women around the world.”